Originally published 8 February 2011. This article is retained from the tCI archive. Law, policy or practice may have changed since publication.
Donald Rumsfeld was ridiculed for using this expression, but it is a useful way to look at the state of uncertainty affecting so many public bodies right now.
The Coalition Government has been in power for seven months, and is now starting to put its ideas into practice. Not all require legislation and, when they do, it is possible to accomplish the desired change just by announcement – even if it needs subsequent endorsement through a change in the law.
So the Audit Commission is ‘abolished’ and local authorities feel better already. Primary Care Trusts learn they are being closed down, and budding GP commissioners start organising themselves. Regional Spatial Strategies are to go; planners can immediately disregard wide-area issues. And so on. The point is that if a change is required these days, it’s not necessary to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. There will be time enough for details; what matters is grasping the reality that the wind blows from a different direction, and to get accustomed to it.
Those in charge of our public services are at such a stage right now. The Localism Bill arrived late and promises a welter of regulations that will take months to produce and even longer to absorb. Town Planners are aghast and worry that so much flesh is missing from the bones of neighbourhood planning. Chief Constables are concerned that elected Police and Crime Commissioners may be overtly political in the way they direct the use of policing resources.
In all these matters, Parliamentary debate will, hopefully, serve to clarify what will happen. The process normally improves the first draft – and tidies up some loose ends. But rarely does it change anything radically, and those who wait until the Royal Assent before setting out to implement its provisions, will be well behind the curve. It is also out of step with contemporary thinking, for waiting for instructions from on-high is now old hat. Today’s message is – Take responsibility; get on with it!
Applying this to the Localism Bill, the Police Reform Bill and the expected NHS legislation, we ask how much should public bodies anticipate statutory changes? All three claim to give local people more influence. They will do it in different ways; the machinery differs – and is not without controversy. Referendums, directly-elected Mayors and Commissioners, HealthWatch and a new layer of planning at neighbourhood level all need far more detail before we can be sure exactly how they will work, and Regulations will provide much of this.
But legislation is not an end itself. There is a broader agenda. In this case it is about confidence-building at local levels. New laws are but the vehicle for the policy-change that places responsibility for finding local solutions to local problems firmly on the shoulders of elected Councillors and public officials. The quicker they grasp the essentials, and think through new options and challenges, the more likely they are to make significant progress.
As these Bills are published, the Big Society emerges as an over-arching theme – even if it isn’t an over-arching framework. Understanding this is probably the biggest challenge of all, for it defies precise definition, yet must not become all things to all people. New proposals in the Departmental legislative programmes start to make sense if considered alongside the Big Society. That is why we don’t need the details of umpteen Regulations before starting a dialogue with community stakeholders who will be affected by so much change.
We recognise that details are yet to come, but smart leaders will place a priority on getting to grips with new realities and spend time thinking through new processes and new accountabilities. These are known knowns; what’s unknown is how they will work out in practice - and how much of a difference it will make. Trigger points
- How well-briefed are elected members, officers and staff?
- Consider attending Institute Roundtables e.g. • LEPs • Police Reform • Localising the Big Society
- Or invite Institute Associates to facilitate in-house Workshops (e.g. Understanding the Big Society, Understanding Localism or Localising the Big Society)
- Are community stakeholder organisations aware of the impact on them of a greater emphasis on ‘neighbourhoods’?
- Read the Institute’s Assessment of the Localism Bill in our Briefing Paper.
This is the 178th Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement